The Ghana Police Service has commenced investigations into the disturbances that occurred at the Islamic Senior High School in Kumasi on Monday morning, with the Ghana Police Service admitting it acted unpropfessionally.
Subsequently the Deputy Regional Police Commander, DCOP Kwasi Akomeah-Apraku acting as the Regional Police Commander at the time of the chaos has been removed from office.
DCOP Apraku has also been interdicted together with two other senior officers: ACP/Mr George Ankomah, the Regional Operations Officer, and ACP/Mr Alex Cudjoe Acquah, the Suame Divisional Police Commander.
The announcement was made in a statement issued by the Ghana Police Service Monday night after the IGP, Dr George Akuffo Dampare arrived in the Ashanti Regional capital following the disturbances.
At least 25 students and some police officers were admitted in various hospitals in Kumasi after police fired into the protesting students who had mounted road blocks on the Abrepo Junction – Bohyen main highway to register their displeasure over frequent accidents in front of their school.
In a Police statement announcing the punishment on the top cops, Chief Superintendent Grace Ansah-Akrofi, Director of Public Affairs, admitted that a better approach to tackling the riot could have been used.
“It was further established that even though nobody was hit by a bullet, the Police handling of the incident was poor and fell short of our standard operating procedure on crowd control,” she admitted.
Background
The student group reportedly blocked the road as they called for construction of speed ramps on that section of the Abrepo Junction – Bohyen stretch to avert the accidents.
Almost an hour of blocking the road, Police met them and allegedly fired warning shots and at some point fired tear gas to disperse the crowd.
“The students pelted the Police with stones and the Police used pepper spray and fired warning shots in an attempt to disperse them,” police said in a statement.
Reports say pedestrian knockdowns involving students and teachers of the school have gone up around the school recently.
source: Myxyzonline.com|Ghana
